Car developed for the mythical focus-group derived "middle-aged, solid earner but somewhat frugal, Just-for-Men-using guy who aspires to a wine tasting trip to Napa sometime before his 70th birthday".

This has always been Acura's problem, in spite of the fact that they occasionally find buyers outside this mould no matter how hard they try to thwart them. 1994-1999 was an exception where there was a glimmer of hope they'd break through to sanity, but it obviously never materialized.

Hence, the frustrating slow rot of the brand. Fundamentally decent engineering, but no cognisance at all for any buyer outside the Just-for-Men guy.

Looks like they are trying to expand on the TL success, but its eating into TL sales by stingy brand whore buyers, IMO what they should have made was a coupe version with a hot GSR or type R like car to drum up excitement and be a successor to the Integra. Imagine an ILX Type R hatch with a N/A 240hp 2.0 liter!

I mean Acura and Honda have 0 sports cars to speak of, and the only sporty cars they offer are the Civic si sedan, coupe, and the Insight which is an appliance.

Also, the 6spd 2.4 version cannot be opted with tech package (no NAV).. pretty stupid if you ask me.
The leather on it is very hard and cheap looking as well. I think they should have lowered the price a bit and made the sport fabric standard (the cloth TSX seats are made with very nice materials)

Actually, I've seen quite a few around here. Initially I thought ,"who the hell would want to buy a tarted up civic for $30K?!?!?!?!" While, that's still a legitimate question, I can see the appeal. In person, it doesn't really look like a civic. The sheet metal is quite different. IMO, looks rather handsome. The ILX interior looks way better than the civic's too.

vs.

vs.

There really isn't another compact entry level luxury car. Are they going to sell 40K? no, but I wouldn't be surprised if their marketing dept pushed a little harder and dropped the price a little bit, they might attract a few more buyers. But, unfortunately for Acura, at $30K, consumers can get a lot more car in a camry/altima/accord/sonata, esp since most consumers could care less about having a more dynamic driving experience.

I was interested for a hot minute but the 2.4 is only offered with base equipment. On top of that I didn't find the 2012 Si sedan I drove to be that entertaining. Oh and like mentioned in another post about the car, it pains me Acura puts a base model looking hidden tailpipe on the performance model of the car.

Also, the 6spd 2.4 version cannot be opted with tech package (no NAV).. pretty stupid if you ask me.

...and that is why I will never consider one, not even used. It's sad because this car would be a great used car buy down the road and Acura/Honda make some of the best feeling manual's in the business. Idiots!

Sure there is - the Verano, A3, 1-series, and Ct200h, as well as the upcoming A-class MB derivatives, A3 sedan, and rumored small Hyundai Genesis-branded sedan. Honestly, I'd throw the GLI into that mix too, along with the the Focus Titanium and ST trim levels.

It also competes on price and features with larger cars, but it's definitely got competition its own size and spec.

Last edited by Turbio!; 10-04-2012 at 11:25 PM.

IPRO Meat-Director and High Minister of Terror-Grilling

Originally Posted by Marshmallow Man

The Terror Grill: Part restaurant, part amusement attraction, part gladiator arena, all profit.

Hmmm what's the ILX got going in its favor? Not too long ago my bro test drove a ILX, wasn't impressed at all with it and purchased a new Aston Martin......I meam Fusion. It's too bad that even though Acura launched the Japanese luxury theme, that after all these years its name plate alone doesn't have enough clout to it to deter a shopper from walking away from it to purchase a Ford

The ILX was not among my favorites. It was outclassed in interior room, sightlines, equipment levels, refinement, driving enjoyment, comfort and space by a Mazda3. Which was one of the best new cars I test drove (I tested a 2010 with 70k kms too and it was just as solid and tight).

You cannot hide the Civic roots, when you push the car that's all it feels like. My buddy recently bought a 2010 Civic Si sedan - and that car just felt so much better. You knew what its mission was - to provide inexpensive, solid, reliable, high-revving fun! And it does that. It's an excellent car, because it has a real mission. The ILX is a combination of the Si and a luxury model. It doesn't work. Even the 2.4L 6-spd version doesn't work... it has the worst manual transmission and clutch I've ever used on a Honda. Every Honda manual has been slick, smooth, fast, and damn enjoyable. This thing rev-hung, the clutch felt weird, the shifter was notchy, the engine over-reved too easy when taking off. Terrible. The automatic version felt slow. The handling at the limit on both felt wonky... It just all of a sudden feels unstable.

The high end ELS stereo is clear, but there is not much bass... for a 360W system with a sub it's very weak. I was highly disappointed... it also has bluetooth from 2-3 years ago. The whole multimedia interface seems like it was designed about 10 years ago then updated with a patch recently... It just seems really outdated.

If the MSRP for the ILX (god, what a stupid, meaningless alphanumeric name) is $25,900 and a loaded Civic is $23,xxx and they ILX features things like more sound dampening, improved interior, etc....then the ILX is basically what the Civic should be if Honda was serious about leading in that market segment again.

In other words, Honda did not make the Civic as good as they knew how to. Which, coming from Honda, is depressing. When I purchase a brand new car, I like to think to think that the car is as good as that company possibly could have made it and still turned a profit. Otherwise, you've got this weird thing going on like Porsche does with the Cayman. It should be better than a 911, but they've held it back artificially.

And it seems to me that the Civic could have been good enough to render the ILX pointless, but Honda let cynicism win the day.

Have driven all three ILX's. 2 are very, very boring, 1 is amazing. The 2.4 6 speed, Pretty much an SI that doesnt look like robot poo. Only badging is the hybrid, so 2.4's look like 2.0's. Making me like it even more, kinda of a sleeper, with the hidden exhaust and no nav too. mmm.